Patrick Kane scores storybook overtime goal for Red Wings, beating Blackhawks in Chicago return

Patrick Kane initially made one lap around the neutral zone, thanking Blackhawks fans for their deafening ovation.

Then the ovation continued long enough to necessitate a second lap. And then long enough to necessitate a third lap. For two minutes that felt more like two hours, the season-high crowd of 21,141 at the United Center continuously roared in appreciation.

“[It was] just so special,” Kane said. “You don’t expect anything less from the Blackhawks with the tribute. [I] didn’t know if I did enough laps or too many laps. The guys kept telling me, ‘Go for another one; go for another one.’ Some of them wanted to see four.”

A couple hours later, Kane completed the Red Wings’ 3-2 comeback win over the Hawks in the most storybook fashion imaginable, lifting a breakaway shot into the corner of the net to score his fourth career overtime winner at the United Center — but his first that didn’t win the game for the home team.

One couldn’t tell that based on the crowd reaction, though. Kane was showered with another deafening ovation on his fourth and final lap after celebrating the victory with his teammates — including another beloved former Hawk in Alex DeBrincat, who earlier on had banked a puck off Hawks goalie Petr Mrazek’s skate to tie the game with 4:16 left in regulation.

Seth Jones had produced a couple great chances to potentially win the game for the Hawks seconds beforehand, but after Wings goalie James Reimer shut him down, Kane was wide open behind the play, giving him all the time he wanted to pick his spot.

“You know the feeling of the moment when you get that puck, but [I] just tried to stick with what I wanted to do,” he said. “Luckily enough, [I] saw it go in.”

For the Hawks, Sunday marked another dispiriting loss in a season full of them. They’ve still won just once since Jan. 20 despite surviving to overtime three times at home this month. They played well for 50 minutes and boasted a lead to show for it, but the so-called hockey gods — clearly salivating over the sentimental narrative — ultimately had other ideas.

Kane’s own Chelios story

Kane and Chris Chelios actually faced each other 10 times in Hawks-Wings matchups between 2007 and 2009, during the tail end of Chelios’ ridiculously long career at the very beginning of Kane’s.

Kane on Sunday shared a hilarious — and, for Chelios, extremely on-brand — story from one of those 10 matchups, this one in April 2008.

“We had a power play and the puck was stalled in the corner, and I had my back facing the net and felt about seven cross-checks [from Chelios] on my back,” Kane said. “I turned around, and I was looking to see if there was going to be a penalty. But the ref decided to let it go for a little bit, so I decided to whack him back a couple times. I think I might’ve had a 12th cross-check on my back [when] they finally called a penalty. We got a five-on-three out of it and scored.

“After, he was saying he wanted to give us a five-on-three so we could make the playoffs that year. I don’t think he was too honest about that one. And then, of course, my mom is mad about it after, saying, ‘He’s the same age as me. What’s he doing to you?’ But after that, we became pretty close.”